From Inside Out to Outside-In: Aligning Teams Around What Matters - Rich Allen

Most organisations focus on optimising their internal processes, creating silos and misalignments that hinder their ability to deliver value effectively. This inside-out perspective may feel like the best way to run a business, but it misses the most critical perspective: that of the customer. Whether it’s Product, Tech, Operations, or even Marketing, failing to align around the value being delivered creates inefficiencies, complexity, and frustration.

This talk introduces User Needs Mapping as a practical approach to shift organisational thinking to outside-in. By focusing on user needs—external and internal—it enables every part of the organisation to align around the value being delivered. From revealing misalignments to breaking dependencies and fostering purposeful collaboration, User Needs Mapping provides immediate insights into creating focus, ownership, and autonomy for teams.

Through actionable examples and real-world stories, this session will show you how to uncover what truly matters for your users and align your entire organisation to deliver value more effectively.

About the Speaker
Rich Allen has been developing software and helping organisations implement lean and agile ways of working for over two decades.

Specialising in the application of Continuous Improvement practices he helps businesses to uncover bottlenecks, highlight opportunities to optimise for flow and introduce ways of encouraging feedback in a culture of continuous learning.

Rich is also co-founder of the Developer South Coast technology user group in the UK which has been helping developers discover and learn about new technologies for over thirteen years.